Welcome to the Reclaiming Childhood Project

Reclaiming Childhood is an interdisciplinary, collaborative research project that examines the changing nature of American childhood. Under the auspices of the Simpson Center for the Humanities, Project Director Katharyne Mitchell aims to engage faculty from the University of Washington with students, parents, mentors, teachers, and administrators in a discussion of the multiple factors affecting childhood and schooling in the contemporary era. In addition to collaborative inquiry, there are four related components of the project: research publications, public symposia; public lectures, and youth participation.

The primary aim of the project is to increase dialogue between faculty working in different fields, and to increase communication between university academics and members of the broader public. Too often the artificial divides between disciplines and between “town and gown” sectors of the population restrict the production of knowledge and can even lead to misinformation and mistrust. In this project we engage in interdisciplinary research on the UW campus, encourage children, teachers, and parents to express their life experiences and understandings through film, writing, and discussion, and provide avenues for those who work closely with children to share their insights with academics and others and to gain support for their views. In addition, we are committed to disseminating our research findings to a broad audience beyond the academy through writing and public speaking.

Many faculty from the University of Washington, regional campuses, and local non-profit organizations contribute to the Reclaiming Childhood project. However, there are six core members who meet regularly and who set the research agenda. These are:

Katharyne Mitchell, Chair of Geography, Simpson Professor in the Public Humanities, and Project Director

Walter Parker, Professor of Education

Sharon E. Sutton, Professor of Architecture

Patricia Campbell, Professor of Music

Frances McCue, Director of the Richard Hugo House, a local writing and poetry center

Cheryll Hidalgo, Film/Video Program Director, Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences